About Us

VI Systems GmbH

VI Systems GmbH (VIS), founded in 2006, is a fabless developer and producer of optical engines for data transmission at ultrahigh bit rates and the related electro-optic components for applications in datacommunications, access networks and sensing.

Prof. Dr. Nikolay N. Ledentsov

/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Prof. Dr. Nikolay Ledentsov is educated as Engineer in Opto-Electronics and has more than 30 years’ experience in the semiconductor industry, research and education. He received his Ph.D. and D.Sci degrees in 1987 and 1994, respectively at the Abraham Ioffe institute, laboratory of Zhores Alferov (Nobel Prize 2000). Within 1998-2007 he served as Professor at the Technical University Berlin. In the optoelectronics industry he took Managing Director and Board positions in several companies before founding VI Systems. He was awarded with Alfred Toepfer Fellowship (1989), Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1996); Young Scientist Award of the Intl. Symp. on Compound Semiconductors 1996 (for outstanding contribution to quantum dot lasers), the Prize of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (2002) and multiple other awards and recognitions. Nikolay Ledentsov is Senior Member IEEE and Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP). He has above 1000 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 40 US patents and the related patent families. His Hirsch factor is >80.
vitalyshchukin_2

Dr. sc. Vitaly A. Shchukin

/ Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. sc. Vitaly Shchukin is the co-inventor of VIS technology. He holds Ph.D and Doctorate of Science (Habilitation) degrees from Abraham Ioffe institute and has authored more than 200 papers, 15 patents, and a monograph. He served as Senior Visiting Scientist at the Technische Universitaet Berlin and gained industry experience at NL-Nanosemiconductor GmbH (Innolume) working as a Principal Scientist and at PBC Lasers. His research interests include the development of novel nanophotonic devices and the physical processes of the epitaxy of nanostructures. Dr. Shchukin was awarded with multiple prizes and recognitions.

Mrs. Ljudmila von Berg

/ Director of Operations (DO)
Mrs. von Berg graduated from the Pedagogical Institute for Foreign Languages in Moscow in 1980 (teacher of English and German). She has a rich background in administration, including: McKinsey & Company (1990-1996), Düsseldorf, where she was a Team Member of the Eastern European Desk; European Institute for the Media, Düsseldorf, where she served as program administrator for the ``Media and Democracy Program`` (1997-2003). In 1997 she became a Certified Interpreter for Russian and German. In 2004-2006 she was a General Manager's assistant at a private hospital in Berlin, being also responsible for the activities and businesses of the hospital related to the East European states.

Dr. Joerg-R. Kropp

/ Director of Integration Technologies and Packaging
Dr. Joerg-R. Kropp received the doctor of science in the field of atomic physics with optical spectroscopy and laser applications. He gained over 25 years of industrial experience in the field of optical communications through various management positions with Siemens and Infineon. His field of experience includes the development of manufacturing processes for mass production of optical transceivers, the development of new generations of modules (such as the well-known parallel optical modules from Siemens PAROLI) as well as innovation and patent management and technology and IP analysis. In addition, Dr. Kropp actively participated for over 10 years in the development of various LAN standards of the optical Ethernet. Dr. Kropp is the inventor of over 40 patent families, with patents in different countries and author of numerous publications and technical contributions in the field of optical communications and micro-systems technology.

Emil Abelaf

/ Director of Business Development
Emil Abelaf has over 25 years in Sales, Marketing, and Technology and Business development in the fiber optics industry. He developed some of the first digitally driven fiber optic receivers and transmitters as well as the first commercially viable Fiber Amplifier.
He has driven very high revenue growth in many companies, including BT&D Technologies, (purchased by HP/Agilent), E-TEK Dynamics, JDS and SDL, and worked closely with the senior management of those companies to make those companies very successful. He has also managed sales organizations that spanned North America, Europe and most of Asia.
Mr. Abelaf graduated with a Bachelors of Science of Materials Science from Cornell University.

VI Systems GmbH is a German technology company that specializes in the development and manufacturing of high-speed optical components and modules for data communications and sensing applications.

Founded in 2006, VI Systems has its headquarters in Berlin, and operates a state-of-the-art research facility nearby the Technical University of Berlin in Charlottenburg. The company’s products are based on advanced semiconductor technologies, including gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP), which allow for high-speed data transfer and low power consumption.

VI Systems’ product portfolio includes a range of optical components and modules for data center interconnects, high-speed optical communication networks, and sensing applications. These include vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), photodiodes, modulators, and transceivers.

VI Systems has collaborated with several leading companies and research institutions in the optical communications and sensing fields, and its products have been used in a wide range of applications, including telecommunications, aerospace, and automotive.

Overall, VI Systems is a leading player in the development and manufacturing of high-speed optical components and modules, and it continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in optical communication and sensing technology.